Casket structure and method of making it

ABSTRACT

A casket main body structure and a method for manufacturing it. Each side and end wall of the casket structure is made from three horizontal sections of material, preferably metal. The upper and lower sections of each wall are decorative extrusions of an extrudable material, preferably metal. The center sections of the walls are formed of a flat surfaced material, preferably metal which may be harder and stronger than the material of the upper and lower sections. The upper and lower sections, as well as the center section may be made in many interchangeable designs and styles to provide a variety of casket structures.

United States Patent [191 Christian [111 3,852,856 Dec. 10, 1974abandoned.

CASKET STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MAKING IT Francis R. Christian, RiverForest, Ill. i

Assignee: The Merit Company, Chicago, Ill. Filed: Jan. 25, 1974 Appl.No.: 436,433

Related US. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 248,659, April 28,1972,

Inventor:

US. Cl. 27/6, 29/155 R Int. Cl. A6lg 17/00 Field of Search 27/3, 6, 7,35, 2, 19;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1859 Shuler 27/6 3,676,9057/1972 Mack 27/6 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet AssistantExaminer-G. F. Dunne Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Kinzer, Plyer, Dorn &

McEachran 57] ABSTRACT 'A casket main body structure and a method formanufacturing it. Each side and end wall of the casket structure is madefrom three horizontal sections of material, preferably metal. The upperand lower sections of each wall are decorative extrusions of anextrudable material, preferably metal. The center sections of the wallsare formed of a flat surfaced material, preferably metal which may beharder and stronger than the material of the upper andlower sections;

. The upper and lower sections, as well as the center section may bemade in many interchangeable designs and styles to provide a variety ofcasket structures.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures abandoned.

CASKET STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF MAKING IT This application is acontinuation of copending application Ser. No. 248,659, filed Apr. 28,1972, now

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION tially formed from extrusions of bronze,aluminum or other extrudable material whether metallic or nonmetallic.

Another object is the casket structure having side and end walls whichmay be assembled from preformed sections of varying designs and shapessome of which may be ornamental and others plain.

Another object is a casket structure having side and end walls which maybe assembled from preformed sections of various materials formed by suchdiverse methods as extruding, stamping, roll forming-molding, etc.

Another object is a casket structure having side and end walls ofornamental designs and shapes which cannot be obtained using formedsteel.

Another object is a casket structure having side and end walls formedfrom decorative extrusions and a-planar connecting panel.

Other objects may be found in thefollowing specification, claims anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS modified form of casket structure. i

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A casket structure or main body11 made in accordance with the teachings and methods of this inventionis partially shown in perspective in FIG. 1 of the drawings. A typicalcasket body 11 includes side walls 13, end walls 15 and a bottom wall17. Conventionally, the walls of a metal casket body have been eachformed from a single stamping or extrusion of metal. Because of the sizeof the walls, it was necessary that they be formed of steel. The use ofsteel limited the intricacies of ornamental design that could be formedin the walls. Further, the expense of extruding steel prevented theextensive use of steel extrusions as structural parts of casket bodies.

These problems have been overcome by the casket structure and 'method ofproducing-the casket structure disclosed herein. In this invention, eachside and end wall is formed from at least two and preferably threehorizontally extending sections of material which may be metal ornon-metallic and'which are joined and con-,

nected together in the manner shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings.While I prefer that at least the upper and lower horizontally extendingsections be formed as extrusions, it is also within the scope of myinvention to use sections that have been molded, stamped or otherwiseformed by known processes.

In one embodiment of this invention, shown in FIG. 2, the top and bottomsections 19 and 21 of the end wall 15 are formed from extrusions, eitherof aluminum, bronze, or other suitable materials and the center section23 is a channel-shaped piece of material, for example steel, which maybe a readily available'stock item. The extruded top and bottom sections19 and 21, while shown in the drawings as having rather simpleconfigurations for purposes of illustration, may, in fact,

have shapes and configurations sufficiently intricate that they can notbe obtained from stampings of sheet metal or extrusions of steel, orcould not be economically obtained from steel extrusions. However, itmay be desirable to form the top and bottom sections from rolled steeland a construction of this type is within the scope of this invention.

The adjoining edges of the top and bottom sections 19 and 21 are formedwith channels 25 and 27 respectively which engage and receive the legs29of the center section 23 to form joints between the sections. Sincethe materials of the three sections may be formed of different metalsspaced apart in the electromotive series, an adhesive 31 is provided inthe joints to separate the metals and prevent electrolysis.Additionally, the adhesive functions to seal the joints between thesections 19, 21 and 23 and form a unitary body section.

The bottom section 21 of the end wall 15'is formed with a secondchannel-shaped'edge 33' which receives a turned-down lip 35 of thebottom wall 17. An adhesive may also be applied to this seam for thereasons previously mentioned. To provide additional strength, one ormore cross braces 37, for example of steel, may be welded to the steelbottom wall 17 and steel center panel 23 of the end wall 15. The sidewalls 13 of the casket body, while not illustrated in cross-section, areformed in the same manner.

A modified form of construction for the end and side the side and endwalls permits decorative effects that could not be obtained if thesewalls were stamped from sheet steel. Further, the use of extrudedsections reduces the cost of construction of caskets having decorativeside and end walls. It also permits the construction of various designsof caskets using standardized component parts. Additionally, thisconstruction permits the finishing of the parts of the casket bodybefore assembly. Another modification of this invention is to form thethree sections of each wall from the same ma terial, for example, analuminum extrusion.

Whereas, the preferred forms of the invention have been described andshown, it should be understood that there are modifications, alterationsand changes which may be made without departing from the teachings ofthe invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be onlylimited by the claims attached hereto.

1 claim:

1. A casket body having side walls, end walls and a bottom wall, each ofsaid side and end walls being formed of three horizontally extendingsections which are fastened together, one above the other, the top andbottom sections of the end and side walls being formed as extrusions ofan easily extrudable material selected from the group consisting ofaluminum and bronze, so that ornamental designs may be formed therein,and the center section being formed of ferrous sheet mateanother and toprevent electrolysis.

1. A casket body having side walls, end walls and a bottom wall, each ofsaid side and end walls being formed of three horizontally extendingsections which are fastened together, one above the other, the top andbottom sections of the end and side walls being formed as extrusions ofan easily extrudable materIal selected from the group consisting ofaluminum and bronze, so that ornamental designs may be formed therein,and the center section being formed of ferrous sheet material, which isstronger and harder than the extrusions of the top and bottom sections.2. The casket body of claim 1 in which channels are formed in the topand bottom sections adjacent the center sections and the upper and loweredges of the center sections are received in the channels.
 3. The casketbody of claim 2 in which adhesive is positioned in the channels tosecure the sections to one another and to prevent electrolysis.